What is Servant Leadership?

One of our viewers sent Founder’s District TV an email and asked a very important question: What is Servant Leadership?

That’s a great question and a HUGE topic to cover because Servant Leadership has four core tenets: 1) Service to others, 2) holistic approach to work, 3) promoting a sense of community and 4) sharing the power of decision-making. I will focus on #1, service to others.

A fabulous example of a servant-leader is Walt Disney because he was a master of communicating a vision and clarity to an army of creative people…while serving others.

Walt’s ultimate goal was to ensure his Disneyland guests had a safe time in his theme park. To accomplish this task, he needed to support his team of experts. He simply asked, “What can I do to make your work better?” That question is still asked today.

For example, global warming is a reality and so are the long waiting lines for the popular rides.
The question was asked, “What can I do to make the wait time better?” Options were discussed and solutions implemented: Where possible, trees were planted to provide more shade and hardscape areas had water misters installed to keep customers cool.

That simple question, “What can I do to make your work better?” created a supportive team environment and made a world of difference. Walt served his associates who served their customers creating a win-win scenario.

Continue to send your questions to fdtv@foundersdistrict.org and we’ll continue to serve you.